Kristina Hill on D&C: ‘I’ve said my piece about the Remys’

One day after giving a victim impact statement in court following a guilty plea from Jared Remy for the murder of Jennifer Martel, former neighbor Kristina Hill joined Dennis & Callahan on Wednesday to discuss the situation. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

Hill, who was a close friend of murder victim Jennifer Martel, said Tuesday’s court appearance was difficult but provided some emotional relief.

“It felt good to talk about Jen and to talk about what my life’s felt like since that night,” Hill said. “But at the same time, like I said in the statement, this is not going to bring Jen back, and that’s the only thing I could ever really want.”

Remy surprised many observers by entering a guilty plea to first-degree murder and accepting a life sentence with no chance of parole.

“I do know that the prosecution had a really solid case, so I’m not sure if it was done out of selflessness or out of smarts or for financial reasons or for whatever else,” Hill said. “I don’t know what his motives to pleading guilty yesterday were. But I’m glad that he did, and I’m glad that it saves twofold the trauma and the horror of going through the trial in October.”

Jared Remy claimed in court Tuesday that Martel had a knife on the night of the murder and threatened to limit his contact with the couple’s young daughter, Arianna.

“I think that he has to say whatever he has to say to help him sleep at night,” Hill said. “We’ll never know what happened behind close doors. But I’d like to think that I knew Jen pretty well, and that seems extremely out of character for her. She was totally opposite from being violent or ever using Arianna against him. She was very much about Jared being a father and being involved. So it seems extremely improbable. But I’m sure that the guy that’s pled guilty and knows he’s going away for the rest of his natural life, so maybe he has to tell him something to sleep at night.”

In previous interviews, Hill implied that Remy’s parents encouraged Martel to drop her restraining order against Jared the day before the murder. Jerry Remy strongly denied that insinuation and made dismissive comments regarding Hill.

“I said my piece about the Remys and I’m no longer going to speak about them,” Hill said. “I think it’s great if we all move on from that. I spoke up on that when I felt it was my duty to do back when Eric [Moskowitz] first put out his article [in The Boston Globe]. I said my peace and I think that’s the only thing I need to say. I think at this point we need to move forward and start to figure out how we find ways to make sure people like Jen don’t end up like Jen and focus on healing.

“I’ve said my piece on the Remys. I’m going to let them move forward now and mourn, as I hope people will let me do as well.”

Hill said she paid for the funeral of her friend in an effort to help the Martel family.

“My husband and I reached out. The Martels were suffering seriously financially — or were going to be from having to raise Arianna and hopefully put her through college and moving up from Virginia,” Hill said. “We felt like it was our duty as Jen’s friends to be able to help not only the Martels out but lay her to rest the way that I would have liked her to be laid to rest. We knew that they were going to and still do have an extreme financial burden. So we did that as a gesture to them, and as well because I know 100 percent if it had been me that Jen would have done the same thing.”

Martel said the Remys did not contribute to the funeral costs.

“There was no involvement whatsoever from that perspective,” Hill said, noting that she is not aware if the Remys were asked to contribute.